A Tribute to Lady Sainsbury and The Linbury Trust

In addition to celebrating 100 years of Rambert School this year with an auction and prize draw event, we were delighted to honour our patron Lady Anya Sainsbury’s 90th Birthday and the 50th Anniversary of The Linbury Trust.

We are deeply privileged to have had the Sainsbury family and The Linbury Trust so closely associated with Rambert School. Over the past four decades they have worked tirelessly to support and protect the School and their love and passion are deeply entrenched in our past, present and future.

Between them, Lord & Lady Sainsbury have been Trustees of the Board, chair of the Building Committee, champions of many fundraising drives, classical ballet coach (we will leave you to decide who!) and most recently Patron.

Established in 1973, The Linbury Trust is synonymous with the UK’s arts and cultural sector, as well as supporting the natural environment and social welfare. Their 50 years of providing vital financial support to hundreds of charities has helped change the course of many lives and organisations.

Lady Sainsbury is also the vision behind the highly acclaimed Linbury Prize, which for 40 years has helped celebrate, discover and amplify some of the country’s most talented stage designers.

Through Lord & Lady Sainsbury, the trust has supported an uncountable number of Rambert School students over the years and continues to do so today. This includes the transformative South African scholarship project founded in 1993 by Lady Sainsbury and Nelson Mandela which ran for over a decade and launched the careers of many talented dancers, choreographers and artistic leaders. This project has always been dear to Lady Sainbury’s heart and she remains in close contact with a number of the recipients and continues to be a proud supporter of their work.

In addition to funding further creative projects, the School will forever be indebted for the role the Trust played in moving Rambert School to its present home in 2005. With Lord Sainsbury at the helm of the Building Committee he ensured no stone was left unturned (quite literally we believe) and guaranteed the stability of Rambert School through a crucial time in its history. The move to Clifton Lodge has been credited with ‘saving’ Rambert School and we continue to cherish the beautiful buildings they helped to provide today.

Our most sincere thanks go to Anya, Richard, James, Stuart, all the trustees and wonderful kind and supportive staff of the Sainsburys and The Linbury Trust for everything they have done for us in the past and for how you continue to champion our work and encourage us every day in all that we do.

Happy birthday and happy anniversary!